This report by the Financial Times with Statista and Sifted aims to identify the best organizations for acceleration and incubation programs in Europe. This inaugural edition has already selected 125 outstanding organizations in 19 countries! Casa do Impacto is one of the six chosen in Portugal and the only one in Europe dedicated solely to Impact Entrepreneurship.

For this report, the Financial Times started with the fact that the startup market was undergoing a massive expansion throughout Europe, and they tried to understand which incubation and acceleration organizations contributed the most to this reality.

The entire selection process was highly meticulous and, to begin with, Statista identified around 2,000 potential candidates who had to meet three criteria:

• > Physical location in Europe: check!
• > Offer at least one incubation and acceleration program: check (several times)!
• > Operational since at least 2019: check!

Next, and after the various Hubs were applied, there was an extensive evaluation resumed in three main steps:

• > Assessment by alumni participating in at least one program the respective Hub runs;
• > Recommendations from external experts such as Investors (business angels, representatives of venture capital firms), Entrepreneurs, and Academics;
• > Analysis of the most successful Startups in each of the Hubs.

It’s essential to recognize that this place on this list is not due to Casa do Impacto alone. Nothing in the Impact journey we make is just ours, and it wouldn’t have been possible to get here without help. This recognition is not ours alone but that of all those who have trusted and continue to trust us since Casa do Impacto began in 2018, from all those who, year after year, participate in our programs and make us raise the level of demand and rigor of our work. The Impact every team and project that leaves our doors has on the world is our motivation to keep doing this. And there’s no more significant source of pride than knowing that the voices of those same people elevated us and gave us this stage.

We must also remember the support many organizations have given us. When we started this project, there were no references in Portugal that would serve as an example of the path we wanted to follow in the Social Innovation sector. We relied on the help and support of partners who gave us the strength to start and so many others who joined us along the way and reinforced it with their knowledge. The other five Portuguese organizations featured were and are part of our history, and it is with honor that we walk side by side.

This recognition validates our figures, but more importantly, it is an impetus for the future. We assume the great responsibility of receiving this accolade and take this commitment seriously to continue putting Impact on the map: “We look at the world around us and understand how urgent Impact is for solving current and future challenges. We want to continue preparing new generations of entrepreneurs and helping different public and private organizations take more sustainable positions to build a fairer society for all.” – Inês Sequeira, Founder and Director of Casa do Impacto.

We also want the work we do to inspire other organizations to dedicate themselves fully to Environmental and Social Sustainability so that Impact Entrepreneurship becomes widespread and, in a future report, can be recognized in a way that covers the whole of Europe – there are many ideas out there that need people to believe in them and help them grow.

We always have our doors open for that: welcome to Casa do Impacto!

See the full list here.

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